BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Hungarian Prime Minister ‘s main challenger on Saturday led tens of thousands of demonstrators through the streets of Budapest in a protest over alleged child abuse in state-run juvenile institutions, an issue that has already shaken Orb谩n’s government following a scandal last year.
The demonstration, called by , came in response to videos published this week depicting employees of a juvenile correction facility in Budapest physically abusing children housed there. The former head of the facility, who is in police custody on suspicion of operating a prostitution ring among other crimes, has also been accused of subjecting minors to physical and sexual abuse.
Police raided the correction center this week, though critics have accused Orb谩n’s government of failing to act despite reports of misconduct going back years. Magyar, whose center-right Tisza party is in most independent surveys, has jumped on the case and accused the government of failing to protect vulnerable children, and called on Orb谩n to resign. Elections are expected to take place in April.
The Hungarian government’s communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The crowd Saturday gathered in cold temperatures in central Budapest and marched solemnly across the Danube River. Many marchers lit torches as dusk fell, and began climbing toward Orb谩n’s offices on Castle Hill.
One marcher, S谩ndor Horv谩t, who traveled some 200 miles (325 kilometers) to the protest from Tiszabecs on the Ukrainian border, said he believed Orb谩n’s government 鈥渨ill be gone鈥� by the time of elections.
鈥淚n other countries, the entire government would have fallen over this scandal. But here we see them clinging to power tooth and nail,” he said.
The abuse of minors in state-run institutions has previously caused a political crisis for Orb谩n’s government. In 2024, Hungary鈥檚 president, Katalin Nov谩k, and justice minister, Judit Varga, stemming from their endorsements of a pardon for a man convicted of helping cover up cases of child sexual abuse in a public orphanage.
The scandal represented a rare moment of weakness for Orb谩n, who has led with near total power since returning to office in 2010. Magyar, a former insider within Orb谩n’s Fidesz party, burst into Hungary’s political spotlight as the case unfolded, accusing the government of misconduct and corruption.
Addressing the crowd assembled outside the government’s executive headquarters on Saturday, Magyar drew parallels between last year’s pardon scandal and the more recent child abuse allegations, saying: “Twenty-two months ago, a country put a question to the Hungarian government: Can it change and improve the situation of children, or will it remain an accomplice of child abusers?鈥�
鈥淥rb谩n鈥檚 government promised everything, but since then, unfortunately, it turned out that every member of the Orb谩n government took the side of the abusers,” Magyar said.
Orb谩n’s government has condemned the physical abuse seen in the published videos while arguing that the cases of child abuse coming to light showed that Hungary’s child protection system was working effectively to root out wrongdoing.
Still, several government figures, including Orb谩n, have emphasized that the juvenile residents of the facility had been placed there because they’d committed crimes or engaged in other misconduct, depicting the institution as a prison for minors.
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